The Last Dead: Long Road Ahead
by xXxWoLfwrIT3rxXx
Summary: The group is falling apart and the past comes back to haunt Lee and Joel. As they continue their struggle to survive against the walkers and the living, their trust will be tested, and some will be lost. They will have to prepare Clementine, Ellie and themselves for the dangers that lie ahead in the long road ahead.
1. Chapter 1: Supply Run

**PREVIOUSLY ON THE LAST DEAD**

Mark: "Come on, Lilly, these are people; people trying to survive just like us! We've got to stick together to survive."

* * *

Joel: "You just be sure if you think what you're doing is the right thing."

Lee: "…I think about that all the time."

* * *

Kenny: "You've been good to me and my family. You saved Duck from those monsters, and you stood up to Larry at the drugstore. I won't forget that."

* * *

Lee: "We ran into some people on the way up here. Bandits, I guess. I think it was them that attacked us."

* * *

Bandit: "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

* * *

Carley: "Because of your past? Does anyone else know?"

* * *

Larry: "Don't forget; I know who you _really_ are."

* * *

Lilly: "Fuck you! We can bring him back!"

Kenny: "We'll mourn him later, but right now, we have to keep him from coming back!"

* * *

Lilly: "NOOOOO!"

Kenny: "GRRRAGH!"

* * *

Lee: "We have to take this, Clementine. We need it to survive."

Joel: "No one would be stupid enough to leave all this stuff out here in the open for the taking like this."

* * *

Jolene: "Don't worry, little girls. Bandits got their eye on that dairy. As long as they keep getting food from them, you'll be safe."

**A/N ************The story progresses based on the choices that I have made in the game and how I think Joel and Ellie would fit into the story of The Walking Dead Game. First, Joel and Ellie get a little honest with each other from the first two weeks in the motel, and then Lee and Kenny go out for a run to the drugstore for more supplies.** Be sure to let me know what you think of this crossover. I do not own The Walking Dead or The Last of Us.

xXxWoLfwrIT3rxXx presents

A crossover event

**THE LAST DEAD**

**EPISODE THREE: LONG ROAD AHEAD**

Chapter 1: Supply Run

**THREE MONTHS EARLIER**

Joel was enduring his shift on watch, sitting in a lawn chair on top of the old RV in the parking lot of the Travelier Motel. He had remained on the chair for the rest of the evening, stubbornly refusing to let anyone else take over. As the moon was shining for the night, Ellie had suspected there was a reason why he wanted to stay seated on that chair. So, while the group was in their rooms getting some shuteye, she decides to go talk to him as she quietly steps out of her and Joel's room, climbs up the RV's ladder and then sits on the edge close to the chair.

Ellie: "Hey."

Joel: "Shouldn't you be in bed sleeping?"

Ellie: "I wasn't feeling tired."

She swings her legs around in the air for a bit before she kept the conversation going.

Ellie: "So, how long has it been since we've been here?"

Joel: "About two weeks."

Ellie: "Right. Enjoying the view out here?"

Joel: "It's all right."

Ellie: "Yeah, I guess so. Seen anything interesting lately?"

Joel: "What do you want?"

Knowing that she couldn't keep up the act anymore, she signs before she answered,

Ellie: "I want to know why you've been spending the rest of the day up here on the RV. I mean, first you've been standing out by the road all morning, and now you're here not letting Carley or Kenny or anyone else be on watch."

Joel: "I'm just keeping an eye out for any walkers that might come here."

The girl wasn't quick to believe that and confirms her suspicions.

Ellie: "Are you expecting something to be here soon? Is that what this is all about?"

Joel shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath, and looks behind him to see all the doors and windows still shut, meaning that everyone was still in their beds. He sets the rifle down, stands up from the chair and moves toward the ladder.

Ellie: "Where're you going?"

Joel: "We're taking this conversation elsewhere."

Although she found it to be odd, she acknowledges and follows. But really, Joel was actually concerned that someone might be eavesdropping in on them, and what they were going to talk about, he really didn't want anybody in the group to hear. He leads them to the dumpsters they had step up as gates with a pile of boards and plywood next to them. From there, the two of them continued their hushed discussion.

Ellie: "There _is_ something you're excepting out there, isn't there?"

He raises his hand for a moment when he struggles for the explanation she was asking for.

Joel: "Look… you remember when we first came around here after we got out from the drugstore?"

Ellie: "Yeah, we started settling in, and your friend, Tess came by for a lil bit, and- …wait, have you been keeping an eye out for _her_ this whole time?"

Joel: "Tess said that she was gonna come back here in about two weeks, which is today, and she said that she would take you and I somewhere where it'll be better and safer than this place."

Ellie: "Oh, what the f-"

Their voices slightly escalate as their argument continues.

Joel: "Hey, look, I'm sorry, alright? But at the rate things have been going lately, and with everything happening out there in the city, we're just pushing our luck here."

Ellie: "Is that really what you believe? That being with your buddies from the black market is gonna make you feel safer? I mean, what do you think is gonna happen to everyone right here? In case you forgot, we've got a thing going on here. Thanks to Mark, we've got a shitload of food now, and we're making a wall that'll keep out the walkers."

Joel: "All the more reason why these people are better off without me."

Ellie: "Stop with the bullshit. What are you so afraid of? That we're all gonna end up like Doug? Shawn? Or even Marlene?"

Joel: "How many close calls have we had since this whole thing started?"

Ellie: "Well, we seem to be doing just fine at this place."

Joel: "And you and I will be doing a lot better at another one!"

The silence between them was tense, and was eventually broken.

Ellie: "Maybe you've got a shitty memory, Joel, but Clementine and Lee wouldn't even be here right now if we hadn't found them in that neighborhood. _I_ wouldn't even be here if you hadn't came to my house that day, and especially when all those walkers were breaking into the drugstore and I nearly got bitten by one. Everyone here needed you before, and they still need you here now… But if you really think that this is what's best, then you can just let me know when your fucking friend gets here."

And so, the fourteen-year-old girl angrily walks away and goes toward her room. Mark was stepping down the staircase while passing by the mad young girl. Joel notices him coming when glances at the new member of the group and looks down at the pavement.

Joel: "Did you hear anything we just said?"

Mark: "No. I heard a little bit of yelling in the middle of the night, but no, I didn't hear anything you guys were talking about. Although, judging by the look on Ellie's face, I'm guessing that you both weren't talking about shooting stars."

Joel only scoffed at his comment and the silence that followed became somewhat awkward for Mark.

Mark: "So, uh, are you finally gonna let me do my shift now?"

Joel then looked at both sides of the road for a moment, not seeing any signs of a pair of headlights for miles until he finally decides to call it a night when he says,

Joel: "Be my guest."

He brushes past Mark and makes his way towards his and Ellie's room while Mark walks to RV's ladder and climbs up to keep watch overnight. However, unbeknownst to anyone, Lilly had been standing by the hood of the RV and was intensely glaring at the man in the flannel shirt as she had listened in on the discussion between him and Ellie, and was now developing serious trust issues with him.

**PRESENT TIME**

Lee was running through the streets of Macon carrying his fireaxe and a rifle strapped on with Kenny following behind him carrying a backpack and a pistol for another supply run to the pharmacy. It's been a little over a week since the survivors over at the motor inn had lived through their incident with the cannibal trade known as the St. Johns. They both slow down their pace as they come up to a corner of a building. Lee peeks to check and see if there were any walkers and steps out when he sees none roaming around, and he and Kenny stand in the middle of the road. Other than the wrecked cars and debris littered on the streets, they seemed to have a clear shot to the pharmacy.

Kenny: "Looks like this is our lucky day."

Lee: "Yeah, this might actually go smoothly."

Kenny: "From what I heard that happened last time, I say we deserve it."

Even though they knew they might've jinxed themselves, they pressed forward. The last time Lee had gone for supplies, he and Joel barely managed to make it back with their lives. But it wasn't a total lost; not only we're they able to grab a few extra supplies, Joel was able to find the next issue to Savage Starlight, Ellie's favorite comic series. After passing through the hardware shop, Lee and Kenny continued towards the drugstore.

Kenny: "Mmph… man."

He momentarily clutches his bullet wound on his gut and Lee furrows his eyebrows at him. Earlier at the motel, Kenny had insisted that it was healed enough for him to head out, but Lee was having his doubts about that.

Kenny: "Lee, where do you come down on staying or going?"

Lee: "You mean packing up the motel and getting in the RV?"

Kenny: "Yeah. We've been talking about it but, you made up your mind yet?"

Lee had been giving it some thought over the past few days and tells Kenny his decision.

Lee: "We should go. Motel's run its course and it's not safe."

Kenny: "You're damn right it has. We pile into the RV and don't pull over until we see water. And if Lilly's dead set on staying, then… well, that's the way it goes. I've tried asking Joel about it again, but that guy still won't give me a straight answer."

Lee: "Maybe you should cut him some slack for a while. Even with all the food we found, we're all still on the edge. Especially Lilly."

Kenny: "I know, but Macon is _done_, pal. Ain't nothing left. We gotta get the hell outta here."

As they drew closer to the drugstore, they advance towards the back of a supply truck that had parked to the side of the building. The ladder on the side of the truck was how they've been able to get inside through the back door. The front door was out of the question since there was rubble and concrete completely blocking it.

Kenny: "Okay then, let's do this. Over the rig, into the pharmacy and we scrap together whatever supplies are in there."

Lee: "We didn't leave much in there."

Kenny: "Yeah, well, we're outta options. Something's better than nothing."

He clutches his wound again, but only for a second when he begins climbing up the ladder while Lee was keeping a lookout for walkers. Kenny was able to reach the top of the truck, but when he steps off, a part of it snaps off and was now hanging crooked.

Kenny: "Shit!"

Lee: "You okay?"

Kenny: "The ladder's come loose. I'm not sure how many more trips she's got in her."

Lee: "I'm not sure how many more trips we got in _us_."

Kenny: "No kidding."

Lee then took another look at the drugstore and frowns at what was left of it. Seeing his family's store the way it is now still pains him to this day. There was even a military chopper that had crashed on the rooftop. While Lee was also curious on what did happen to the military and the National Guard, he reminds himself of the task at hand and talks to Kenny.

Lee: "Hey."

Kenny: "Yeah?"

Lee: "Still sore?"

Kenny: "I took a bullet to the gut. What do you think?"

Lee: "I'm thinking that I should've brought Carley with me instead."

Kenny: "I'll be all right."

Lee: "…If you say so. Think we'll find anything? Ain't much left in there."

Kenny: "We'll see. Station wagon's supplies ain't gonna last as long as we thought it would. If we'd hit the road like I suggested, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Lee: "Well, I'm coming up."

Kenny: "Ladder's right there."

Even though it was hanging crooked, Lee still had to at least try to use it so he can get over the truck with Kenny. So, he approaches the ladder and grabs a handle, but then ends up completely pulling it off and tosses it on the road.

Lee: "Looks like she's had it."

Kenny: "What now?"

Lee: "I'll find another way up."

Kenny: "Better hurry before we start having unexpected company."

Lee looks around the street for a minute before he notices a military jeep parked by the front door. When he walks up to it, he notices all of its tires had gone flat and there were pieces of plywood stacked on top of it. But then, he sees a winch on the hood of the jeep. Getting an idea, he grabs the hook with cable attached to it and pulls it toward the truck.

Kenny: "Lilly's not doing so good, huh?"

Lee: "Well, we killed her dad."

Kenny: "We _did_ kill her dad."

Once he gets close enough to the truck, he attaches the hook onto the axel while Kenny was watching him work from the top. Lee goes back to the jeep activate the winch control and stands back as the jeep pulls itself to the truck. Lucky from them, it wasn't making too much noise to attract walkers.

Kenny: "Your girl still upset with you for agreeing to take that stuff from the station wagon?"

Lee had done his best before about trying to reassure her about doing what they did and tells him his progress.

Lee: "I think she understands."

Kenny: "Hope so. Not like we had much of a choice."

Lee: "Right."

He walks alongside the jeep while the winch tows it toward the truck and it bumps right into the wheels. Lee boosts himself onto the hood of the jeep while Kenny keeps their conversation going.

Kenny: "Duck was asking about that guy at Hershel's farm last night."

Lee: "Really? I wasn't sure it phased him."

Kenny: "Of course it did."

Lee: "Still? I mean, whatever happened to 'water off a duck's back', huh?"

That made Kenny let out a small chuckle, bringing back memories of when they first met.

Kenny: "He's a tough kid, you know. Like I said, not much phases him, but it's starting to add up. The farm, the dairy… I need to get to the coast. Get him out of all this madness."

He bends down and reaches his hand out to Lee.

Lee: "…You sure you're up for this?"

Kenny: "Lee, I'm fine. I've got this. Gimme your hand."

Lee acknowledges and grabs Kenny's hand. He tries to pull him up to the top of the truck with him, but his wound gives him trouble again.

Kenny: "Agh!"

He lets go of Lee's hand.

Lee: "Shit!"

He falls right on to the hood of the jeep and busts the front glass with his head. Kenny looks out into to the street to see if the noise from the fall had attracted any walkers. He sighs in relieve and shakes his head at Lee, letting him know they were still clear.

Lee: "Jesus. You sure you're okay?"

Kenny: "I'm fine. Shit, I'm sorry, pal, I'd thought that it'd be healed up better by now."

Lee: "Yeah, well, you're lucky it wasn't any worse. You could've-"

But then, he was interrupted by a sudden scream in the air. They both looked to see where it was coming from until they see someone bursting out from an alley, screaming her head off while a walker was staggering its way toward her. She trips and fell to the ground and quickly gets back up and runs to the middle of the road as more walkers close in on her due to her screaming.

Kenny: "What the- What the hell is that? A walker?"

Lee: "Walkers don't scream, do they?"

Kenny: "Jesus, I don't think so."

Lee brings out the rifle he had strapped on his back and uses the scope to get a clearer view of what was happening and sees the woman shove a walker away from her. Her skin, hair and clothing were all extremely dirty and she continues to scream for help.

Lee: "It's a girl! We have to help her!"

Kenny: "How? There's no getting to her."

Lee: "We gotta do something!"

But when he looks through the scope again, a walker on the ground had bitten her ankle and she jumps away from it. There was no way they would be able to save her now.

Lee: "Fuck, they bit her. We gotta shoot her; put her out of this misery."

Kenny: "They don't know we're here."

Lee: "What do you mean?"

Kenny: "I mean, that if we leave her alive, she draws them all to her; buying us time."

Lee: "Ken-"

Kenny: "Think about it! We're always worrying about the ones we can't see. If she stays alive, she'll bring them all outta their holes."

Lee looks at the rifle in his hands, trying to think of what he should do. If he were to shoot her, he would put the poor girl out of her misery, but then the walkers would turn to their attention to him and Kenny, and they probably won't have much time in the pharmacy. On the other hand, if he leaves her like Kenny suggested, then she'd lure out all the walkers and keep their attention on her, long enough to get they what needed from the pharmacy. He looks through the scope again to see the girl doing her best to fend off all walkers surrounding her, trying to decide which would be the best course of action. His finger came really close to fully pulling the trigger, but then he looks away from the scope, choosing not shoot her as another walker had bitten the girl's shoulder and she shoves it back while more walkers came lurking towards her. Lee looks away from the scene with discontent written on his face, straps the rifle back on and turns to Kenny.

Kenny: "Good, let's go. She'll keep em busy."

Kenny reaches his hand out again; Lee takes his hand and was able to get pulled to the top of the truck. After getting a quick glance, they hop down onto the street and make their way into the drugstore through the back door. Lee closes the door behind him and Kenny opens the door to the pharmacy. They both head inside while still hearing the woman's screams.

Kenny: "We should be good to clear this place out, but we ain't got all day. Get everything you can out of these racks! Don't forget to check underneath the counter! I'll clear out here and then we gotta go!"

Lee pushes a shelf to the side and bends down to get everything that was on the floor. There were still some left from the last run here; medicine, energy bars, Lee was grabbing everything in sight until there was nothing left and moves to the counter. He grabs another box of meds and opens the cabinet underneath the counter when he realizes that there was no more screaming. The walkers had finally finished off the girl.

Kenny: "She's gone. There's not much time now."

They would have to work even faster now. It wouldn't be long until the walkers busted their way in here again. Lee grabs everything in the cabinet and moves to another part of the pharmacy that still had supplies. He takes energy bars that were inside a box and more supplies and medicine on the floor and shelves.

Lee: "I think that's everything!"

He takes everything that he had grabbed and stuffs it all into Kenny's pack.

Kenny: "That girl didn't die for nothing then. Up and over!"

He vaults over the pharmacy counter and Lee does the same.

Kenny: "We're still clear. Let's hustle!"

But then, when Lee reaches the office door, it suddenly falls right on top of him with plenty of walkers right on top of it and he drops his axe in the process.

Lee: "Agh! Kenny, help!"

He tries to push it off on his own, but it was all too heavy. He glances up to see Kenny rushing to his aid. They both lift the door off of Lee and push the door away. Kenny aims for the walkers in the office while glancing at the fridge by the doorway as Lee picks up his axe and stands back up.

Kenny: "Fridge!"

Lee quickly followed his lead. He runs to the fridge and pulls it down right on top of a walker. He sees another one crawling on the ground, then lifts his axe over his head and brings down onto its head. Another one appears at the pharmacy counter and Kenny shoots it in the head with his pistol and shoots another coming through the office.

Kenny: "Out! Let's fucking get out!"

Kenny runs to the end of the store and Lee tries to follow after him but then, he finds another walker that caused him to gasp out loud because it was actually Doug that was staggering towards. The sight of his comrade that he only known for such a short time, and then being dragged out from that window to be devoured by the undead, it had struck Lee with fear and guilt as he backed away from the approaching walker.

Kenny: "Lee, what the hell are you doing?"

For some reason, Lee just didn't have it in him to swing the sharp end of his axe on his head. So instead, he just shoves him back with his hand, but it still kept coming. He then uses the handle of his axe to shove him away, but still no good. Kenny fires three more bullets at the walkers coming from the office.

Kenny: "Quit fucking around, man. I can't keep em back forever!"

The undead Doug had lunged at Lee and he uses his axe to prevent himself from getting bitten. He continues to push it back until he does one stronger shove.

Lee: "Rraagh!"

It had gotten impaled by the iron poles sticking out from the concrete blocking the outside. Lee frowns and shakes his head at the walker, knowing he wasn't going to move from there anytime soon. He then notices the herd of walkers coming and meets up with Kenny.

Kenny: "Let's go, pal."

Kenny crawls through a hole in the wall and Lee looks back at his family's drugstore again before crawling through the hole himself to escape the drugstore. It was almost déjà vu all over again.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**A/N The purpose of the beginning was to do a flashback and shed some light on the ending of the first book when Tess made her short appearance and said she'd be back in two weeks for Joel and Ellie, and tried to make it seem like Joel was trying to convince himself that he and Ellie need to move on with Tess. And as for Lilly being there, well, think of it as when Larry blackmailed Lee. It'll all become clear soon. Also, I heard TTG planned on having Doug (or Carley) as a walker at the drugstore instead of a pilot, so I figured that I'd try that. By the way, HAPPY SEASON TWO OF THE WALKING DEAD!**


	2. Chapter 2: Mysteries and Secrets

**A/N ************After making it out the drugstore with supplies, Lee gets involved into investigating a mystery at the motor inn. But will also have to come clean with his past.** Be sure to let me know what you think of this crossover. I do not own The Walking Dead or The Last of Us.

Chapter 2: Mysteries and Secrets

The Travelier Motel had now become somewhat worse for wear. During the past week, the survivors got attacked by a group of bandits and somehow, they all managed to drive them back into the woods almost unscathed, but that was a couple of days ago. There were now bullet holes all over their little safe haven and plenty of arrows stuck on the outside wall. Ever since Larry's death, everyone had begun to develop doubts in Lilly's ability to continue leading the group and worry about what she might do because of her traumatic loss while Kenny just kept pushing everyone into leaving the motor inn since he claims that the RV is fully operational. Joel was sharpening his new machete with a rock while leaning against the hood of the old RV and Ellie was sitting in the driver's seat with the door open, reading the last page of the comic book Joel had found for her when he had gone out on a supply run to the drugstore in Macon.

Ellie: "Aw man!"

Joel: "What? What is it?"

Ellie: "It's the worst part in every good story that's being told. Just when something big is about to happen, _this_ pops up. 'To be continued'."

She puts the comic in her pack behind her, tosses it beside the couch in the RV, gets off the driver's seat and closes the door behind her. They both then proceed towards the wooden wall to continue their conversation.

Ellie: "I hate cliffhangers. I hope the next issue is out there somewhere in town."

Joel: "You seem to be really enjoying them comic books, huh?"

Ellie: "Yeah, they're really good. You should read one of them sometime and see for yourself."

Joel: "I, uh, think I'll take a rain check on that."

Ellie: "Whatever."

Joel: "Anyway, what is about them comics that got you so interested in them?"

Ellie: "Well… for one, I like the whole concept of it taking place in outer space, and… before the walkers even showed up and all this happened, I was thinking about maybe becoming an astronaut."

Joel: "Is that a fact?"

Ellie: "Yeah. Can you imagine having to be all the way up there, all by yourself? Would've been cool. Just saying… So, other than having to, you know, being part of a you-know-what and all… what is it that you wanted to be?"

Joel: "Uh… well, when I was kid, like maybe around your age, I used to want to be, uh… a singer."

She laughs at the thought of Joel actually picking up a microphone and singing the lyrics to "Old Time Rock and Roll".

Ellie: "Shut up."

Joel: "I'm serious."

Ellie: "Sing something."

Joel: "Ah, no."

Ellie: "Come on, I won't laugh."

Joel: "I don't think so."

Ellie: "Joel, please?"

He doesn't respond that time, but in her mind, she vowed to one day get him to sing for her. She sees Ben sitting on the lawn chair on the RV's roof and was still feeling upset about the fact that he was given a gun and she still wasn't, and he was only three years older than her. She thought complaining about it to Joel again, but then she spots Lee and Kenny coming down the road back from Macon.

Ellie: "Hey, look. They're back."

Joel: "I see em."

Lee was carrying his axe in one hand and the rifle in the other with Kenny walking alongside him carrying his pack full of supplies that they had just collected from the drugstore. When they neared the motor inn, Kenny saw Ben doing his shift of being on watch once more, much to his dismay. Joel meets them at the dumpster gates and Ellie was the first to greet them.

Ellie: "Hey, Lee. Hey, Kenny. So, how'd it go out there?"

Joel opens the gate to let them through and then closes after they walk in.

Lee: "Eh, the usual."

Ellie: "Yeah? Let me guess, the walkers nearly took a bite out of you guys again?"

Kenny: "It was close, but we pulled it off."

Joel: "Good."

As Lee walks through the parking lot, he sees Clementine talking to her walkie-talkie and figured that she was having another pretend talk with her parents. Once she noticed his return, she runs over to him.

Clementine: "You're back!"

Lee: "Hey, sweet pea."

She smiles at the name he's started calling her recently and holds her little radio out in front of her to show the addition she had made to it.

Clementine: "Ben found stickers inside a drawer and I put some of them on my walkie-talkie. See?"

She had placed four flower stickers on her radio; two on the front and two on the back.

Lee: "Yeah, that's neat. I'll talk to you in a minute."

She nods at him and goes off to resume her work on her drawings, and Lee approaches the door to Lilly's room with Kenny. He sets his axe down beside the doorway and knocks on the door. Eventually, Lilly opens the door looking like she hadn't slept for days and slightly pale. She still hadn't been able to fully get over her father's death.

Kenny: "Looks like we got the kid on watch again."

Lilly: "What'd you get?"

Lee exchanges the rifle with Lilly for a fully loaded pistol and puts it in the back of his waistband.

Kenny: "Might as well leave a sign out that says 'The men are gone. Come and rape our women and children'."

Lilly: "Ha."

She takes the rifle into her room to set it on top of a dresser and repeats her question.

Lilly: "So, what did you get?"

Lee: "Just what was left."

Kenny: "Which was a lot actually. Take a look."

He holds out the pack in front of her, she snatches it out from his hand and places it on her bed to see what was inside.

Kenny: "We're fine, by the way."

Lilly looks inside the pack and appeared to be satisfied with the amount of supplies inside.

Lilly: "Nice work. This'll keep us going. We carry on like this, we'll get through the winter here."

Kenny: "The winter? We'll freeze our asses off here."

Lilly: "Because piling into an RV with you guys, after what you did to my dad, is _so_ appealing."

Kenny: "Why wouldn't it be? You know I'll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe."

Lilly: "We're already safe."

Kenny: "Take a look at the walls, Lilly. That's not graffiti, those are _bullet holes_. And we got enough arrow shafts sticking out to dry our laundry. And that's all beside the fact that Macon is busted at the seams with walkers."

Lilly: "We don't have walker problems."

Lee: "We have to go eventually, Lilly."

Lilly: "We don't have to do anything."

Kenny: "You didn't want to leave before because of your dad's health issues, but he's gone now."

Lilly glares at his words and Lee shakes his head at him.

Lee: "Easy, Kenny."

The argument caught the attention of the rest of the group. Carley, Joel, Ellie and Katjaa gathered around behind them.

Carley: "At it again, are we?"

Ellie: "It's not like anything else happens around here."

Kenny: "Can it, y'all."

Lilly: "Don't boss people around."

Kenny: "I'm sorry, but somebody needs to make executive decisions for the group though, and I don't think you're capable anymore."

Lilly: "Then don't start with me either."

Joel: "You two have been going at it like this ever since we all first came here. Up until now, I'm getting real tired of having to hear the same bullshit from the two of you every day."

Lee: "Both of you need to stop this shit for once. Everything can't always come down to the same disagreement."

Lilly gave him a look that told him to go on.

Lee: "Lilly, Kenny _does_ have some legit points here."

Lilly: "…I'm so tired of it being you all versus me."

Lee: "Dammit, I'm not on anyone's side, Lilly. These decisions affect _all_ of us."

Kenny: "What about the food situation? What about protection? What about when this place falls? Somebody's gotta be thinking about this shit."

Lilly: "How has this not been working? We have everything we need."

Kenny: "Because of me, Lilly."

Lilly: "That's B.S., Kenny, and you know it."

Lee: "We still got plenty of food from that station wagon for everyone."

Joel: "That may be, Lee, but we can't just keep relying on the station wagon's supplies forever. Otherwise, we'll just be back to right where we started before we even found them."

Lilly: "Everything that happens to us is another excuse for you to pull this crap about leaving. All I want is a week of peace, of not _hearing_ it!"

Kenny: "Do you know _how_ we got these supplies? We got lucky and let a girl get eaten out there."

Lee then shuts his eyes and lowers his head with discontent, wishing that he would not bring up what they did with the poor girl they had left to the walkers.

Katjaa: "What?"

Kenny: "Some girl, came screaming out of an alley. She had dead hanging all over her. She gave us the time we needed to get everything we could out of the drugstore."

Ellie: "Wait, so, you both just left her out there to the walkers, like bait? Just like that?"

Kenny: "You weren't out there."

Carley: "You guys couldn't have tried to save her?"

Kenny: "Don't take that tone with him. It's the first smart thing he's done in a while."

Lee: "No, Ken, it wasn't _smart_… It was a mistake. Sure, we got the supplies, but we should've tried to save her or put her out of her misery or something."

Joel: "Yeah? Why didn't you?"

Lilly: "Well, he had Kenny with him, so _some_ options were off the table."

Kenny: "Hey, you know what? You should be thanking Lee for not shooting that girl."

Lilly: "It's not so _easy_ for him."

Carley then gave Lee a look that no one seemed to notice. She knew better about when it came to him and murder.

Kenny: "Look, Macon and its people aren't savable. It's not a town. It's full of walkers, and the people who _were_ left in it are dying and wondering out onto the streets. Its hell on Earth, and it's coming, this way."

And then, Lilly snaps.

Lilly: "IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY EASIER OUT ON THE ROAD!"

Kenny: "How would you know?"

Lilly: "What _I_ know?! I know you're not above murder! I know somebody has been stealing our supplies!"

Joel: "What?"

Lilly: "That's right, _stealing!_ And I know the list of people I can trust here gets smaller every day! Now everybody get out!"

No longer feeling like arguing anymore, everyone walks away from Lilly's room. Kenny turns to face Lee and he asks,

Lee: "Happy Kenny?"

Kenny: "My family's alive and that RV is running. You're goddamn right I am."

Katjaa: "Everyone is under great stress."

Kenny: "She's right about one thing; none of this is getting any easier."

He then walks over to the sofa in the parking lot and takes a seat in it. Katjaa glances at Lee before she moves to go join him. Lee looks at Joel standing behind him, and he only looks away while cocking his head and walks off. Ellie also glances at Lee before following after Joel and walks alongside him across the lot.

Ellie: "Man, I don't think I've ever seen Lilly go off like that before."

Joel: "Yeah, well, she just needs more time to move on from Larry's death is all."

Ellie: "You sure? I mean, isn't there anything we can do to, you know, help her?"

Joel: "I think she made it quite clear before that she doesn't want any help from us. When the time comes that she does, she'll let us know."

The girl nods at his words just as he reassumes his position against the wooden wall and she takes another look out on the road for a moment before she asks another question.

Ellie: "It can't be any worse out there than it is in here… can it?"

Joel: "Outside of this motel _and_ Macon? Who the hell knows. All I know is that no matter where we end up, there's always gonna be the dead trying to eat us, and even the living trying to kill us. Yeah, them bandits out there give us all a reason to want to leave, but even if we do go, there ain't no guarantee that anything out there will be any better than how it is here."

Meanwhile, Lee and Carley were having their own conversation.

Carley: "Oof, things are coming to a head."

Lee: "You could say that."

They both walk a few steps away from Lilly's door.

Carley: "Well, I think you did good today, and I find myself thinking that most days."

Lee: "Thanks."

She cups his cheek for a moment while saying,

Carley: "It's probably worth following what Lilly was saying about missing supplies. With her wound up the way she is, I don't want to see her paranoid."

Lee: "No question."

Carley: "…And, I'd like to talk when you got a minute."

Lee nods at her and watches her walk toward the staircase. She stops to look at Lee and smile at him before continuing up the stairs. Lee glances at Lilly's door, thinking about Carley's suggestion to ask her about the supplies, but decides to check on Clementine before doing that. The little girl was keeping herself busy with her drawings on a pallet, using a crayon to add in some color until she notices Lee kneeling beside her.

Lee: "Hey, Clementine."

Clementine: "Hey, Lee."

Lee: "What's that you're working on?"

Clementine: "It's called a leaf rubbing. My teacher, Ms. Moore showed us how to do them when we went to the Botanical Garden once."

She pulls a brown leaf from underneath the paper and holds them up to show her work.

Clementine: "See? It's the same. Um… kinda."

Lee: "Now that's really something."

Clementine: "I was making this one for Ellie. I can make one for you, too."

Lee: "That's real sweet of you. Listen, uh, do you like it here?"

Clementine: "Um, I don't _like_ it here, but…"

Lee: "Do you wanna leave?"

Clementine: "Where are we going?"

Lee: "Somewhere else."

Clementine: "I don't know. Maybe if I knew where."

Lee: "Yeah, that would be a good thing to know. I'll let you get back to it."

Clementine: "Okay."

As she continued her leaf rubbing drawing, Lee proceeds to Lilly's room and opens the door to find her sitting on the bed with her head buried in her hands until she hears Lee enter and looks at him with remorse.

Lilly: "I'm sorry."

The man takes a seat in a chair beside a table.

Lee: "You don't have to apologize."

Lilly: "Did you come here to get me hell, or to coddle me?"

Lee: "I wanted to follow up on what you were saying about supplies being stolen."

Lilly: "Do you know what's going on?"

Lee: "I don't. I just heard you mention it."

Lilly: "And you came here to confess?"

Lee: "I'm not stealing shit. I came in here to help."

Lilly: "…Fine. There's a traitor. Somebody, one of us, out there. He or she or they have been taking things."

Lee wasn't quick to believe that. He had known everyone in the group for so long, the very thought of it sounded impossible.

Lee: "Paranoia isn't gonna help us."

Lilly: "I know what this sounds like, but I'm not paranoid. The count's off and it's the good stuff. Antibiotics, oxy… fuck, anything with opium in it."

Lee: "I've seen the count, and it's fine."

Lilly: "I keep my own. _That_ one's getting messed with."

Lee found it odd that Lilly would keep her own stash of supplies, but continued to listen.

Lilly: "I'm a fucking mess right now, but I'm not stupid. I know what happens if I start a witch hunt."

Lee: "So you want _me_ to start one?"

Lilly: "I want you to poke around."

He didn't like the idea of going around accusing his own comrades of anything, but the thought of one of their own stealing the supplies was even more troubling.

Lee: "What's there to go on?"

Lilly reaches under her bed to pull out a yellow flashlight and hands it over to Lee.

Lilly: "I found this tossed into the garbage."

Lee: "Hmm."

The lens and the bulb on the flashlight had been broken.

Lilly: "We don't toss out equipment, we fix it. You'd only try to get rid of a flashlight if you were using it when you shouldn't."

Even though she had made a good point there, Lee still didn't want to believe that there was a traitor in the group.

Lee: "Seems like you're manufacturing this from nothing."

Lilly: "Fine, don't believe me. Prove me wrong. Or I'll just assume it was you."

Lee sighs and walks out of the room. He cracks the door behind him and stares at the pavement for a bit until suddenly,

Duck: "A mystery!"

Duck had walked up right behind Lee and startled him with his sudden appearance.

Lee: "Jesus, Duck!"

Duck: "I'm sorry. Um, I heard you guys talking."

Lee: "You need to un-hear all of that."

He tries to walk away, but the ten-year-old boy caught up to him.

Duck: "Can I help?"

Lee: "What did I just say?"

Duck: "We can solve this case together! You're the greatest detective, and I can be Dick Grayson, your ward!"

Lee knew that he was referring to his own favorite comic series, but still scowls at him for not listening.

Duck: "That's Robin."

Lee: "I know who it is…"

He could tell that there was no way that Duck was going to leave it alone and made sure no one else was eavesdropping before he responded.

Lee: "All right, you can help. But don't tell anybody."

Duck: "Secrecy."

Lee: "Yeah, good."

Duck: "What do I do?"

Lee: "I-I don't know, go look around. Let me know if you find anything weird."

Duck: "I'm on the case."

And then, his "ward" goes running off to find clues. Lee shakes his head at his behavior, but he had to give Kenny's son credit for having such active imagination. He takes another look at the flashlight in his hand. All he had to go on for the moment was that someone either intentionally or accidentally broke it, and then threw it in the garbage so no one would find out about it. It's not much, but it's all he's got. He then remembered that Carley wanted to talk to him about something and proceeds toward the staircase. After climbing all the way up the stairs to the balcony, he finds the journalist in her purple jacket with a green undershirt standing outside the door to her room, resting her head on her hands and leaning against the balcony rail. Carley then became aware of him standing next to her and asks,

Carley: "Talk to Lilly yet?"

Lee: "Yeah. She thinks supplies have been walking away."

Carley: "Really?"

Lee: "There's some broken equipment, too. I'll look into it."

Carley: "Thanks for doing that."

She eventually moves away from the rail and looks at him.

Carley: "…What I wanted to say was, I've been thinking a lot. About you."

Lee could tell where this discussion was going and smiles when he lets her know about his thoughts.

Lee: "I think about you, too."

She smiles a little at his words and looks down at the people in the motor inn parking lot.

Carley: "Our group is small."

Lee: "_You're_ small."

She then smirked at his teasing comment. She was the smallest adult in the group. Even though they were starting to have a fond moment, her face fell when she starts to say what she actually wanted to say.

Carley: "You're a convicted killer."

Lee: "Carley, Jesus…"

Carley: "And I think people should know. Not because they deserve to, and not because you're a bad man. I think the opposite of those two things."

Lee only frowns, still not fully understanding.

Carley: "People need to know because we're hanging by a thread here and I can't see Lilly talk about you without thinking it's the next thing she's going to say. You don't have to tell everyone, but think about who you trust and take the opportunity while you have it."

He hadn't thought of it that way before. He didn't think that Lilly might say anything about his murder history to anyone. But then again, Larry could've mentioned it to her without him knowing about it before his head got crushed in the meat locker.

Lee: "You're probably right."

Carley: "Of course I'm probably right. People might be pissed, and telling them might cause some trouble, but it'll be a far cry from what'll happen if they don't hear it from you."

Lee: "Yeah."

Carley: "…So, you'll do it then?"

He knew she was right. If there was ever any time for him to tell the people what he had done before this all even started and they met, now would be the perfect time.

Lee: "I'll let people know. You're totally right."

Carley: "Good. I think it's for the best."

Ellie was still having her own discussion with Joel until she spots Lee and Carley talking at the balcony, but she couldn't predict what was about to happen next. She had gone wide-eyed when she suddenly saw Carley place her hands on Lee's chest and kiss him on the cheek.

Ellie: "Whoa."

Joel follows her gaze and managed to catch the journalist's lips on Lee's cheek before she whispered something in his ear and smirks.

Joel: "Huh, well, how about that."

Ellie: "I knew they always got along very well, but… man, I never thought that there was something going on between them. You think maybe they'll get together?"

Joel: "Looks to me that they just made it official. Besides, we've all gotta get wrangled up at some point."

The girl nods and sees Lee and Carley resume to having a normal conversation. The idea of them being a couple had brought a smile to her face. Happiness was also a rare thing these days, and they would no doubt help make each other happy. But then her smile faltered when Lilly's words during her outburst came back to her mind.

Ellie: "Hey, Joel?"

Joel: "Yeah?"

Ellie: "You think what Lilly said was true? I mean, the part about someone stealing our supplies?"

Joel: "…Well, I hadn't seen any of em gone missing so far, but I think that was just her being a little paranoid. Give her time to get her head clear."

Ellie: "I hope you're right… Hey, uh, there's something else that I wanna ask you."

Joel: "All right. What is it?"

Meanwhile, Lee had finished his conversation with Carley and walks down the staircase back in the parking lot. He then looks up to her and smiles fondly at her. She notices this and smiles back at him. The next thing he sees is Clementine still working on her leaf rubbing picture, and he decides to tell her about his past. She already knew half of it from when they were at the drugstore, but he knew that he would to be completely honest with her. He approaches the little girl while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and kneels down to her level.

Lee: "Hey, uh, Clementine?"

Clementine: "Yeah?"

For a moment, he hesitated and decides asking her about the flashlight instead, like he did with Carley a few seconds ago.

Lee: "You didn't accidentally break a flashlight, did you?"

Clementine: "No. Did Duck say I did?"

Lee: "No. Did _he_ break the flashlight?"

Clementine: "I don't think so. He's just always blaming me and Ellie for stuff."

Lee: "Like what?"

Clementine: "Putting a bug in his pillow."

Lee: "Did either of you do that?"

Clementine: "…I did."

Lee snickered at her little sneaky and mischievous act, but then shakes his head and tells himself mentally that he had to tell her, and that this is the right thing to do. And so, he took a deep breath and speaks more seriously.

Lee: "Clem, I need to talk to you about something."

Clementine: "Okie-dokie."

He thought about how he was going to tell her for a moment until he continued.

Lee: "The day you and I met, I was in a car accident."

Clementine: "I remember. Your leg was bleeding."

Lee: "The car I was in was a police car, and I was on my way to jail for committing a crime."

The little girl widens her eyes a bit and looks at the ground for a moment when she recalled what Carley had said when she and Lee were talking in the drugstore.

Clementine: "Oh… so that's what-"

Lee: "Yeah, that's it. I can't explain it, but I know it was a bad thing to do."

Clementine: "Why are you telling me?"

Lee: "I need to tell you now because I don't want you to hear it any other way."

Clementine: "Okay…"

Lee: "Do you have anything to say?"

Clementine: "I don't think so."

Lee: "You can, uh, go on back to your things."

She nods at him and eventually resumes her work on her picture. Even though Lee was feeling a little worried about the little girl as he moves away from her, Clementine did understand why he told her. He makes his way over to Kenny and Katjaa, who were having their own discussion on the sofa.

Lee: "Hey, you two. How you doing?"

Katjaa: "We're okay."

Kenny: "Just having a little spat."

Katjaa: "We all carry guns now and, well, I don't like it."

They looked at the pistol that was left right in between them before Kenny looks at his wife.

Kenny: "It's the way it's gotta be."

Katjaa: "I know, but I'm not getting use to it… I'm sorry. How are you, Lee?"

Lee: "I'm fine. But, I was wondering…"

He takes out the flashlight and holds it in front of the couple.

Lee: "Do either one of you know what happened to this broken flashlight?"

Kenny: "Fuck… We don't got many of those."

Lee: "Yeah, it's a problem. The glass and the bulb are all busted."

Katjaa: "I saw some broken glass over by the ice machine. I meant to clean it up before the kids hurt themselves on it. I forgot, though."

Lee glances to the left and was able to spot a small litter of glass right where Katjaa said it was. Both of their responses convinced Lee to cross them both off the suspect list.

Lee: "All right then, I'll see to it. But, Kenny, you need to try harder with Lilly. You guys gotta straighten this all out."

Kenny: "I don't know how straight we can get it, given all that's happened."

That response made Lee raise an eyebrow in doubt.

Lee: "So, what then?"

Kenny: "Time will come when we'll have to do what's best for our families, and that's what we'll do."

Katjaa gave Kenny a disapproving look that he didn't see before looking back at Lee.

Lee: "You guys, uh, trust everyone here?"

Kenny: "More or less. I obviously have my problems with Lilly, but I don't distrust her."

Katjaa: "Yeah, we can't turn on each other anymore than we already have."

Lee: "Isn't that the truth… Hey, listen, about the guns-"

Kenny: "Don't _you_ start."

Lee raised his in defense for a second before he continued.

Lee: "I just wanted to say, Kat, that it's probably good that they make you uncomfortable."

Katjaa: "Thank you, Lee."

Kenny sighs in exasperation and Lee quickly tries to support his previous statement.

Lee: "But we need them. There's no doubt about that."

The man then decides that he should also tell both of them his past and he focuses his gaze on Kenny first.

Lee: "Kenny, you got a second? I need to tell you something."

Kenny: "Sure, pal. What d'ya got?"

Kenny stands up from the sofa and moves to where they can talk more privately while Lee looked at Carley from up the balcony, thinking about her words as he walks in front of Kenny.

Lee: "It's serious."

Kenny: "Oh no. What'd the she-devil do to you?"

Lee: "Shut up, man…"

Kenny waited a moment to hear what Lee had to say.

Lee: "I… killed someone. Different than Larry or the St. Johns, different from everything. This was before the walkers."

Kenny didn't fully understand when raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips.

Kenny: "Uhh…"

Lee: "It was a state senator, and he was sleeping with my wife. He and I got into a fight, and I killed him. I know, I didn't say anything when I met you because I was with the girl, and- you know, I was worried, and-"

Kenny: "I just smashed a guy's head in with a 50 pound block of salt. You saw me do that, right?"

Lee: "Yeah, I did."

Kenny: "And you're talking about who we were? The fuck does that matter? It's everything this mess has got us doing now, Lee. Shit."

Lee had nodded at him in agreement, thankful that he was taking it better than he expected.

Kenny: "Look, is Duck safe around you?"

Lee: "Of course."

Kenny: "Then shut it. You don't owe anybody any kind of explanation… But, I do appreciate it, though."

And then, Kenny walks back to his wife on the sofa. Since Kenny was okay with it, Lee walks to the sofa again and speaks to the veterinarian.

Lee: "Katjaa, can I talk to you about something?"

Katjaa: "Sure. Is everything okay?"

She stands up from her seat and follows him to where they can speak more privately. Kenny didn't seem to mind. In fact, he could already guess what Lee wanted to say to her.

Lee: "I was, uh, on my way to prison three months ago."

He notices her eyebrows furrow upon hearing his words.

Lee: "You always looked at me with kind eyes, and I wonder if you could still do that if you knew I was a convicted felon."

Katjaa: "My goodness, for what? How much trouble could a teacher get into?"

Lee: "Well, plenty, but it had nothing to do with that… It was for murder."

Katjaa: "Why?"

Lee: "He and my wife were-"

Katjaa: "That's enough."

She breaks eye contact with him for a moment before looking into his eyes and asks for something that she had been wanting to know about lately.

Katjaa: "Tell me what happened when you all locked in the meat locker at the dairy."

Of course Kenny didn't tell her. He must've thought that she wouldn't understand the real reason why he did what he did, and now she was asking Lee for the truth. He knew he now owed Katjaa an explanation since he just revealed his crime to her, and continues to be honest.

Lee: "Larry had a heart attack. He lost consciousness and Lilly tried to revive him. Kenny thought that he was going to turn and wanted to kill him before he did. We all kept arguing until he started moving."

Katjaa: "What happened?"

Lee: "Well, I… I-I can't explain it, but I was sure at that moment that he did turn. So, I held Lilly back, and Joel and your husband made sure that Larry… wouldn't get back up."

Katjaa: "What did Kenny do?"

The guilt was evident on his face when he answered,

Lee: "He smashed his head in."

She gasps when he finished, placing a hand over her mouth and was completely shocked at how her husband was becoming a lot more less like the man she had met at first sight, all for the sake of survival. She walks away from Lee, and paused when he called her only to mutter out loud,

Katjaa: "Everything keeps changing…"

As she walked away, Lee began to regret telling her truth about not only his past, but what went down in the meat locker. He reminds himself of what Carley had said to him and agreed that this might be for the best. He then turns his attention to the RV. Even though Kenny mentioned that the old thing was ready to go, he still had some doubts about that. Even Joel told the commercial fisherman more than once that he wasn't gonna be able to get the engine to run. However, Kenny's stubbornness might actually pay off if the time came for them to leave. Ben was still sitting on the lawn chair on the RV, keeping watch with rifle in his hands, and Lee calls out to him.

Lee: "Hey, Ben."

Ben: "What's up, Lee?"

Lee: "Have you seen anything lately on watch? Is there anyone up to anything?"

Ben: "Nope. Really quiet."

Lee: "Really?"

Ben: "Yeah, totally, which is good."

Lee: "Guess so. What do you think about Lilly?"

Ben: "She scares the crap out of me."

Lee: "…That's a reasonable thing to feel."

Ben: "I'm just worried she's going to snap."

Lee: "We're _all_ worried about her…"

The man then makes an attempt to get to know Ben a little.

Lee: "So, did you ever come down here to Macon much?"

Ben: "I didn't have much reason to. My parents would let me take the car into the city on weekends. But, what's in Macon? It's kind of a waste of time compared to Atlanta."

Lee crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at Ben's opinion about his hometown.

Lee: "I grew up in Macon."

The teen boy then went wide-eyed from hearing that and began feeling guilty about his words.

Ben: "Oh… I didn't mean to say it's crappy or anything."

Lee raises his eyebrows at Ben and he tries to give him a better opinion.

Ben: "It's super nice. I mean, not now, but I bet it was… Is."

Lee: "It's fine, Ben. Don't stress over it. One last thing; a flashlight was broken. Was it you?"

Ben: "No."

Lee: "You're not in trouble if it was. I know you get nervous and maybe you went to go to the bathroom, broke it, got worried and tossed it."

Ben: "What's with the third degree? I didn't break any flashlight!"

Lee raised his eyebrow in response to the way Ben talked, but then chooses to take his word for it.

Lee: "…Okay then. Talk to you later, Ben."

Ben: "Bye."

Lee then makes his way over to Joel and Ellie. As he was walking, he notices they both looked like they were arguing about something, and was able to catch a part of it when he got closer to them.

Joel: "…And how exactly do you think that will make anything better?"

Ellie: "Well, think about it."

Their argument ended when they noticed Lee approaching.

Lee: "Hey. What's going on over here?"

Joel: "It ain't nothing for you to be concerned about, Lee."

Ellie responds by crossing her arms and lets out an annoyed sigh.

Joel: "Anyways, did you need something?"

He takes out the broken equipment from his pocket before he asks,

Lee: "Do you two know how this flashlight got broken?"

Joel: "Nah, I don't know how that happened. Ellie?"

Ellie: "Don't look at me, I didn't do it."

Lee could tell by the looks on their faces that they were telling the truth.

Lee: "That's all I wanted to know."

He puts the flashlight back in his pocket and decides to tell them his past as well.

Lee: "Listen, there's, uh, something that I need to tell you two."

Ellie: "Is it about Lilly? Look, Lee, I know that she's still upset about what happened to her dad and all, but-"

Joel: "Ellie. Let's just hear what Lee has to say, alright?"

Ellie: "Right. Sorry."

Joel: "Go ahead, Lee."

Lee: "I, uh… I'm a convicted killer."

The two give Lee the same look he's been getting for the past couple of minutes.

Joel: "Are you serious?"

Lee: "Yeah, I am."

Ellie: "But… you're such a nice guy, Lee. I mean, you didn't kill the St. Johns when they tried to kill _us_."

Lee: "Yeah, I know. It's just what I did before we all met, and I'm not proud of it."

Ellie: "So, what was so bad about this guy that drove you into killing _him_?"

Lee: "…He was someone that my wife was having an affair with."

Ellie: "Oh…"

Lee then receives a skeptical look from Joel and watches him cross his arms.

Joel: "So, you see some guy that your wife was sleeping with, and you just kill him?"

Lee: "Look, I don't what came over me that night and I never meant to… but, yeah, I did, and it ruined my life. I didn't know who he was until after I killed him."

He took a deep breath, thinking about how much pain he had caused not only to his ex-wife, but also to his whole family. Joel and Ellie continue to listen.

Lee: "He turned out to be a state senator, and I wound up getting a life sentence to prison."

That was when they had recalled what Lee had said to Hershel Greene when he was asked how his leg got injured.

Ellie: "So, wait, does that mean that the day when your leg got hurt was from-"

Lee: "Yeah, it was."

Joel: "And you're telling us this now why?"

Lee glances at Carley again before he answered.

Lee: "Because I don't want to have to keep this from you anymore, and I'd rather that you guys heard about it from me and not someone else."

Joel nods and eventually asks one more question.

Joel: "…I take it that _this_ is what Larry was talking about before in that meat locker?"

Lee: "He was. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It's just that-"

Joel: "I get it. You don't need to explain."

There was a moment of silence between the three of them until Joel looked at Ellie, and he receives a look from her. The man then compared the things he had done in his days in the black market to the crime Lee committed, and honestly, there wasn't really that much of a difference. He also thought back on the day when he told Ellie about his occupation, and with everything she was telling him earlier about telling _his_ history in the black market, he eventually caves and decides that maybe he should tell Lee. After all, he did just confess his own criminal history.

Joel: "But, you know, you ain't the only one who's got a little secret."

Lee thought about if he should ask what he meant or just leave it be and walk away. A moment later, he asks,

Lee: "What're you talking about?"

Joel turned to Ellie and received another look from her, mentally urging him to say it. Despite feeling uncomfortable about speaking of it, he took a deep breath and shook his head a little before he answered him.

Joel: "The thing is… I used to be a black market dealer long before the dead started coming to life."

And then it was Lee's turn to give him a disbelief look.

Lee: "…What?"

Joel: "You heard what I said. So, if you think killing a state senator sounds bad, imagine the type of things that I've done before."

Lee thought about some of the things Joel would've done in a black market, and stares at the pavement with furrowed eyebrows for a moment before he responded.

Lee: "…Man."

Joel: "Yeah, I know it may sound hard to believe, but it's the truth. But, I think you and I both know that we've all had to do plenty of other things that were a lot more fucked up during these past three months, and whatever we were before this all even started doesn't really matter much anymore."

Lee: "I guess…"

Joel: "Did you also tell Clementine about you?"

Lee: "Yeah, of course I did."

Joel: "Then we're done here."

Lee nods at them and walks away to investigate the glass Katjaa mentioned about earlier. While he was moving towards the ice machine, he faintly hears Ellie giving Joel a pat on the back for finally being honest about himself. When Lee got near the pile of pieces of glass, he takes out the broken flashlight, bends down and picks up a piece to place it amongst the lens. It was a perfect fit, meaning that these other pieces were from the flashlight. Getting a suspicious feeling, he looks around the corner and spots a sign written on the wall. It was a pink X simply drawn on it, and Lee wipes two of his fingers across it to conclude that it certainly hasn't been there for long.

Lee: "Hmm, chalk…"

And then, his "sidekick" makes another unexpected appearance beside him.

Duck: "Pink. Hmm…"

Lee: "Duck!"

Duck: "A clue!"

Lee: "Maybe."

Duck: "What do you think it is?"

Lee: "I don't think it's anything."

Duck: "Maybe it's a sign."

The man looked at the X again, and found himself agreeing with the enthusiastic boy. But, what could it be a sign for?

Lee: "It could be. It's pink chalk, which is… weird."

Duck: "Just like you said I should look for!"

Lee: "Uh, yeah."

Duck: "Okay, back to investigating!"

Lee shakes his head at him again when Duck goes running off again, but didn't even try to hide the smile that formed on his face. That energy of his was surely something to be admired for. He steps forward a little until he notices the drawing of the sun on the ground that was also written with chalk. He then looks at Clementine from across the lot since she most likely had some chalk on her, and-

No. There was no possible way that his little girl would ever have a hand in supplies being stolen. He would never accuse her of anything this serious, but he still had to check and see if she had some pink chalk amongst her art-making tools. But before he did, he notices Carley still on the balcony and makes his way up the staircase once again to inform her on his progress on tell his past to the group. The reporter notices him approaching her and turns to face him.

Carley: "Hey."

Lee: "Hey."

Carley: "So, how'd it go?"

Lee: "I talked to Kenny about who I am."

Carley: "And?"

Lee: "He was cool. He just worries about his family."

Carley: "That wasn't so hard, was it, tough guy?"

Lee: "Guess not. I talked to Katjaa."

Carley: "How'd she take it?"

Lee: "She was fine, I guess. I think she's more upset about Kenny."

Carley: "Because of the St. Johns? What exactly did he do back there?"

Lee: "Oh, don't you start now. I talked to Clementine about things."

Carley: "How'd she handle it?"

Lee: "…I don't know. She's tough to read."

Carley: "She adores you, don't worry."

Lee: "Yeah, you're right. I told Joel and Ellie about me."

Carley: "Were both of them okay with it?"

Lee: "Well, I think Ellie understands, but Joel actually had a little secret of his own."

Carley: "He did?"

Lee: "Yeah. Turns out that he used to work as a black market dealer back in Atlanta, and apparently he's done more bad shit than I have."

Carley: "…Really?"

Lee: "Really."

Carley: "Oh… Well, I guess that pretty much explains why he's such a hard-ass."

Lee: "Yeah, but he has been taking good care of _his_ little girl, just like I have."

Carley: "Seems like redemption comes to those who've had it pretty rough before an apocalypse."

Lee: "Heh, yeah, I guess so. I'll talk to you later."

Carley: "I'll talk to _you_ later."

Lee smiles at her comment and moves to go back down the stairs. He then focuses his attention on Clementine and the pieces of chalk she had on the pallet, walks to her once more and kneels next to her.

Lee: "Hey, Clem?"

Clementine: "Yeah?"

Lee: "Do, uh, you have any pink chalk?"

Clementine: "No. It's gone somewhere."

Lee: "Hmm…"

Clementine: "Do you want blue?"

Lee: "No, no, it's okay."

When Lee rises back up to think, he hears someone calling him in a quietly matter.

Duck: "Psst! Lee."

He sees the boy beckoning from the back of the RV and raises an eyebrow as he approaches him to see what he wanted.

Duck: "I found something."

Lee: "What is it?"

He watches him reach into his back pocket and pulls out a piece of pink chalk. Most likely the same one that was used to make the X sign on the wall.

Duck: "I found this piece of pink chalk, and a scuff of it over by the gate!"

Lee: "Really?"

Duck: "Totally! I was combing the scene for clues, and-"

Lee: "Yeah, Duck, I got it. Good job."

The man makes his way towards the gate, but Duck beats him to it by sprinting. He then raises his hand up for a high-five and Lee obliges.

Duck: "Cool!"

Lee: "So, did you find anything else while you were looking?"

Duck: "Just the chalk. I also found some bugs from underneath the stairs. Don't tell Ellie or Clementine that, though."

Remembering that Clementine mentioned that she had put a bug in his pillow, Lee figured that Duck was planning on getting back at her for it.

Lee: "Okay, I won't… You know, you seem to know a bit about all of this; you found the chalk, and the scuff here."

Duck responds to that by doing a heroic pose like from his favorite comic books.

Lee: "This is gonna sound crazy, but, you're not involved in this, are you?"

Duck: "No, I'm a good guy!"

Lee: "All right. Just tell me more one thing; you didn't accidentally break a flashlight, did you, Duck?"

Duck: "No. Mom and Dad won't let me touch any of their stuff. Neither will Joel."

Lee: "That's probably for the best…"

With that done, Lee looks closely at the scuff Duck mentioned, which was on one of the dumpsters wheels and pushes it forward a little.

Lee: "Somebody's been through here, too…"

Duck: "See? I did good, huh?"

Lee: "Yeah, Duck, you did. I suppose I should go out there and look around. You just wait right here. For real this time."

Duck: "Okay."

Lee opens the gates and walks right through them. On the left side, he notices how there are multiples arrows sticking on the wooden wall, approaches them and pulls one out, thankful that the wall was all they struck and not someone in the group since the previous attack here.

Lee: "Damn."

He tosses the arrow away and began to think how it was peculiar of how the bandits haven't been antagonizing them these past couple days. Lee walks along the sidewalk until he notices a grate near the floor on the wall of the building and could tell that there was something inside. And so, he approaches the grate, bends down and pulls it out. He then looks inside to see a brown paper in it. This was weird indeed. He pulls the bag out, stood up and looks inside the bag only to find bottles of medicine inside. But these weren't just any medicine; these were all _their_ medicine, the medicine that they nearly died for to get from the pharmacy. This was a tradeoff, and someone was responsible.

Lee: "Son of a bitch."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Chapter 3: Fallout

**A/N A bag of stolen supplies has been discovered, and now, all hell is about to break loose at the Travelier Motel************.** Be sure to let me know what you think of this crossover. I do not own The Walking Dead or The Last of Us.

Chapter 3: Fallout

Lee walks into Lilly's room with the brown paper bag in his hand and cracks the door behind him. Lilly raises her head again to see the man in front of him and asks,

Lilly: "You haven't come up with anything, have you?"

Lee: "I came up with this."

He holds the bag in front of her and she takes it to see what was inside.

Lee: "It's got a bunch of our meds in it. It was in a grate a few feet away from the outside wall, and there's a sign on the other."

Lilly: "Holy fuck."

Lee: "Yeah."

Lilly: "…Okay, we line everybody up. _Everybody_."

Lee took a seat in the chair and furrowed his eyebrows, worried about what Lilly might say to the people. They weren't going to be happy about this, that was for sure.

Lilly: "Somebody is killing us. Stealing from our supplies is the same thing as slipping into your room at night and cutting your throat while you sleep; you die. What is the difference? What if one of the kids gets sick and we don't have what we need?"

Lee frowned at that possibility ever happening. Lilly glances at her window with the curtain barely open and sees something completely unexpected and unusual.

Lilly: "What the hell?"

She tosses the bag away and moves to get a closer look, and what she saw was the bandits that had attacked them a few days ago and were now over their protective wall. She and Lee hears the leader screaming his head off as he rants,

Bandit Leader: "You don't fucking _steal_ from us!"

Lee: "Who the fuck is that?!"

Lee stands up from the chair to see the dilemma going on outside from out the window and goes wide-eyed while Lilly shakes her head in disbelief. They had all somehow managed to ambush the group and taken them all hostage.

Lee: "They've got our people out there!"

Bandit Leader: "Y'all are gonna get your people out here! We ain't fucking around!"

Carley walks toward the group with her hands on the back of her head like the others and gets forced to her knees by the bandit wielding a crossbow and wearing a hoodie, bandana and sunglasses.

Lee: "What do we do?"

Lilly: "Oh shit!"

Lee: "Lilly?"

The woman runs over to her dresser to grab Kenny's rifle and proceeds to the window at the back of the room.

Lilly: "They're gonna start kicking in doors any second."

Lee: "Lilly, what the hell are you-?"

Lilly: "Stall them."

Lee: "What?"

Lilly: "Just keep them talking; do whatever it takes to stop them pulling the trigger."

She opens the window, crawls through it and runs off.

Bandit Leader: "You made the biggest mistake of your lives!"

Lee just stood there for a minute, thinking about how in the world was he supposed to stall _those_ people and how this was all gonna go wrong in so many ways. But he knew that he had no choice. He had to do _something_ to keep the bandits from killing any of his comrades.

Lee: "Shit."

As he proceeds to step out the door, he notices his axe was still near the doorway right where he left it, but now was not the time to take it. The bandits would think he that was attempting an attack and open fire on him. For now, he walks out the door with his hands up and walks at a calm steady pace toward them while the bandit stomped around behind his hostages.

Bandit Leader: "Enough of this bullshit! Drew, start putting your boot to these doors!"

Drew: "Yeah!"

And then, they all notice the man approaching them with hands up and the leader aims his pistol at him.

Bandit Leader: "Hold it, asshole!"

Lee: "Take it easy."

The motor inn group watched and wondered what Lee was planning to do while he takes slow steps forward.

Lee: "Why are you doing this? Just leave us the fuck alone!"

Bandit Leader: "Why? This fucking guy… Why?! Because we gotta, that's why!"

What they didn't notice was Lilly getting into position with the rifle from on top of the balcony.

Lee: "What will it take to reach a deal?"

Bandit Leader: "About twice as much as you been giving us!"

Hearing those words helped further prove that someone had made a deal with them, just like how the St. Johns once did.

Lee: "You got it, done."

The leader lowers his gun, taking Lee's offer in consideration.

Bandit Leader: "Is that so?"

Lee: "Yeah, whatever. Just, let them all go."

Bandit Leader: "Well, I suppose we ought to hash out some terms then."

Gary was another bandit standing right beside the leader wearing a ballcap, sunglasses and aiming a gun at the back of Kenny's head. He glances at the leader for a moment, showing discontent of wanting to make another deal.

Gary: "I don't like no hash."

Bandit Leader: "Man, shut up or I'll-"

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a bullet that got fired to his head.

Drew: "Christ!"

The leader drops his gun and falls face first to the pavement. The rest began to panic, not knowing where the sniper was while the group had scattered, except for Carley and Joel. Lee glanced at Lilly standing by a corner from the top of the balcony, knowing that she was the one who took the shot. Carley snatches the dead leader's gun, rises up while taking aim and shoots the crossbow-wielding bandit in the head, then immediately puts down Gary with a headshot before he could even react. But when she tried shooting Drew, the gun only clicked due to having no more bullets in the clip. Before he could try anything, Joel tackles and slams him to the wall. He pins him against it with his arm, takes out his machete and stabs him right in the gut. Drew began groaning in pain before Joel pulled out his weapon and watches him fall to his knees, clutching his wound with one hand and raises his other one over his head.

Drew: "N-n-no, wait! Don't!"

Joel ignores his pleas and swings the blade directly at his skull. He then kicks his head off to yank out his weapon and looks down at the bandit's motionless body, feeling no sympathy whatsoever. For him, this was payback for the bang to the head he gave him earlier. But then, he hears something coming from the forest and could see even more bandits charging at the motor inn with guns blazing.

Joel: "Ah shit, it's a goddamn raid! GET DOWN!"

Joel makes a mad dash toward the RV, and Lee and Carley also run for cover. Two bandits had pushed the dumpsters from the wall and were now using it as cover. Ben tries to make a run from behind a table until Lee grabs him and dives back down behind the table with him just as a bullet had missed them both by inches. Carley vaults over the table and kneels right beside Ellie, who was also taking cover from the gunfire with Lee and Ben. Kenny comes running out from Lilly's room with Lee's rifle and stands beside Joel to see him crouched by the corner of the RV and pulls back the hammer of his revolver.

Kenny: "We gotta get outta here now!"

Joel: "No shit!"

He fires off two bullets, both missing their targets.

Kenny: "I need y'all to buy me some time so I can get the RV's engine running!"

Joel: "You better be right about this damn thing being ready to roll."

Kenny: "I am!"

Joel fires another bullet to nail a bandit in the arm before doing a quick reload. Kenny sees Lee taking cover with Carley, Ellie and Ben. He calls out to Lee, tosses the rifle to him, he catches it and tugs on the bolt.

Kenny: "Get those bastards! Cover our people and get them in the RV!"

Kenny opens the door and gets to the driver seat. Joel hears the engine grinding while aiming with his revolver again and waits until one of the bandits peeks out from cover, fires and kills him instantly with a headshot. The second bandit hiding behind the dumpster takes a shot with his rifle and hits a taillight. Joel fires again, but the bandit ducks back down to dodge the bullet and notices the anxious look on Ellie's face.

Joel: "Ellie, hang in there! I got this!"

Ellie: "Get them, Joel!"

Joel notices the bandit moving over to the sofa and before he could get the chance to use it for cover, Lee uses his rifle to shoot him right in the leg to incapacitate him and Joel finishes him off with a headshot.

Lee: "Now! Let's go, hurry!"

The four of them quickly seized their opportunity to run to the RV. Ben and Carley ran inside while Lee remained outside and Joel placed his hands on Ellie's shoulders.

Ellie: "What the fuck is wrong with these guys?!"

Joel: "Catch your breath, we're leaving."

As Joel ushers Ellie inside, more bandits start coming in from the other side and Clementine was hiding behind a dresser and a couple pallets with Katjaa and Duck.

Bandit: "Behind the RV!"

Katjaa: "Help!"

Lee and Joel notice their dire situation and move to the other side of the RV with their weapons ready.

Lee: "We're coming, hang on!"

But then, a walker grabs one of the bandits and brings him down while biting his neck, causing him to scream and fire his gun multiple times. The noise from all the gunfire would no doubt attract a whole herd of them to the motel. Lee peeks to the side while looking through the scope and shoots one peeking out from behind a barrel in the head. Another bandit pops up from behind the barrel to take a shot, but Lee beats him to it by shooting him in the head and calls out to Clementine.

Lee: "Stay down, Clem! Everything's gonna be okay!"

Clementine: "Help!"

Another bandit moved in to take cover; Joel shoots at him, but only hits the barrel. The bandit then shoots and hits the hood of the RV and Joel responds to it by shooting him in the shoulder. Lee watches him attempt to move to a dresser for cover, but then kills him with a headshot.

Joel: "Hurry, all of you, get over here!"

Clementine was the first to run over to the RV and Lee embraces her.

Clementine: "Lee!"

Lee: "Clem, get inside the RV! We're gonna be fine! Go!"

But as Katjaa tries to make a run for it with Duck while Lee ushers Clem inside, a walker had grabbed the blond woman, which causes her to trip and bashes her head on the desk and blood leaks down on her hair and the side of her face when she and her son fall on the ground with the undead monster clawing at them. Joel sees this, quickly aims and fires the remaining bullet in his revolver at the walker's head just as Kenny comes running out.

Kenny: "Kat! Oh, Christ!"

The two of them quickly ran over to lift the dead walker off of them and help them both to their feet. Kenny helps his family to the RV while Joel notices his backpack was still on the desk where he left it, takes it and straps it on. Lilly was still at the balcony shooting at one of the bandits as Lee calls out to her.

Lee: "Lilly, get in the RV!"

Kenny: "Screw her! Let her stay!"

He quickly gets back in the driver's seat and continues to struggle getting the engine started with Katjaa and their son in the passenger seat and Carley standing right beside them.

Carley: "Kenny, this place is about to overrun any second."

Kenny: "You don't think I know that?! Come on, start you fucking damned thing!"

Wondering if there was something wrong with the engine, Joel places his revolver in the back of his waistband after fully reloading it, opens the hood and eventually notices that a wire from the solenoid had fallen off from its place. Unless it was fixed, there would be no chance of getting the RV started.

Joel: "Damn it, a wire came loose. Lee, keep them assholes off me, I'm gonna try to get it reattached."

Lee nods and fires at a walker lurking into the motor inn. Carley had noticed more walkers coming in from the left side and exclaims,

Carley: "Shit!"

The journalist jumps out the RV with her own personal pistol and takes aim at walkers on the opposite side. Meanwhile, Joel was struggling with the wire while Kenny continuously turns the key in the ignition.

Lee: "Joel, hurry up! We gotta go!"

Joel: "I'm doing the best I can here!"

After Lee and Carley had shot down a few more walkers, Joel had managed to get the wire and tightened it back into place.

Joel: "Got it!"

And then, Kenny turns the key one last time, and the engine was finally running.

Kenny: "That did it! Everyone inside, now! We're outta here!"

Joel slams the hood shut and gets inside with Carley. Lee was about to follow in, but remembers his fireaxe by Lilly's door and rushes over to retrieve it. There was also that pack full of recently acquired supplies left in the room; If they were going to leave this place behind, there was no way in hell he would let today's supply run and the death of that girl in the street be for nothing. So, Lee runs inside, grabs the backpack left beside the bed, straps it on and hurries to the RV.

Lee: "Lilly, last chance! Get down here!"

The woman sees him get inside the old vehicle and notices how many bandits and walkers were raiding the motor inn. Far too many for them to drive back into the forest this time. They had no choice but to leave the Travelier Motel behind.

Lilly: "Shit!"

She rushes down the staircase. Kenny backs the RV up a little, and before he stepped on the gas, Lilly was able to jump in and close the door behind her. Kenny drives the RV straight to the wooden wall, running over a few walkers in the process and was now on the road, away from the raid.

* * *

Kenny: "Kat! Jesus, are you okay?"

Katjaa: "Yes, Ken, I'm fine."

Kenny only frowns in response and refocuses on driving down the road. Ellie then walks up to them and holds Katjaa's medical kit up in her hand.

Ellie: "Here's your med kit, Katjaa. Are you sure you're okay?"

Katjaa: "Yes, sweetie, I'll be all right."

The wounded woman takes her kit and opens it to look for a bandage to stop the bleeding on her head with Duck in her arms. Ellie leaves her to it and turns to join the rest of the group that gathered around the couch and was standing beside Clementine. Lee was grasping a handle near the door, Lilly was standing beside the sink with her hand on the cabinet and Carley and Joel were sitting on the couch along with Ben, who had his head buried in his hands for a moment before crossing his arms with a troubled expression.

Ellie: "Shit… Oh, that was intense."

Carley: "You said it. But it's over now, we're okay-"

Lilly: "_Nothing_ is over yet. We need to figure out how this happened. We just lost everything."

They knew that she meant that they had left behind the rest of the station wagon supplies and everything else that was at the motor inn. At least they were able to retrieve their weapons and packs before they managed to evacuate.

Kenny: "Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV."

Carley: "And none of us were killed."

Kenny: "Katjaa's head is split open!"

Katjaa: "Kenny, I'm fine."

Kenny glances at his wife again to see her wipe the blood off her face with a gauze while the bandage was covering her head wound.

Lilly: "Somebody in here cause this…"

Joel: "Lilly, the bandits have had our number for weeks. They were bound to do something like this one way or another."

Lilly: "No, this is different. Somebody was working with them. Whoever it was had been handing them over _our_ supplies right under our noses. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked just to get what they wanted."

Ben: "H-how do you know that?"

Lilly: "Lee found a bag of our supplies hidden outside the wall. _That's_ how."

Everyone had looked at Lee, and he shuts his eyes for a moment, wishing that he didn't have to say it, but then he sighs and confirms.

Lee: "It's true."

Ellie: "What?… But, why would anyone want to do that?"

Lilly: "Good question. So, Carley, is there something you'd like to say?"

The journalist then immediately narrows her eyes at Lilly for even suggesting the idea of her being responsible, and Lee also looked upset about her accusing Carley.

Carley: "Please."

Lilly: "We have to get it out of you then."

Carley: "Back off."

Lilly: "You're in no position to make demands."

Carley: "Whoa, hold on, you're just pointing fingers here. It was _not_ me."

Lilly: "I didn't just come up with this. I've had my suspicions for some time."

Kenny: "Probably not the best time, Lilly."

Lee was not about stand by and let Carley be accused for something he knew she didn't do and vouches for her.

Lee: "Carley's trustworthy. She's not a traitor, Lilly."

Carley smiles at him in gratitude for his support.

Carley: "Thank you, Lee."

Lilly: "She can fight her own battles. Unless there's something going on here that implicates you both."

That was when Joel decided that it was his time to step in.

Joel: "Lilly, I think it's about time you take a goddamn breather."

Lilly: "Don't talk like _you're_ in the clear in this."

Joel: "Excuse me?"

Lee: "Lilly, just calm down."

Lilly: "No, I'm serious, Lee. A man from the black market like Joel would make him the least trustworthy and the most obvious out of everyone else."

Other than the sound of the RV, everything became silent. Disbelief was written all over Joel's face as he stood up from his seat and looks into Lilly's eyes.

Joel: "What did you just say?"

Lilly: "You heard me. I know what you are."

Ellie: "…How do you-?"

Lilly: "I heard the two of you talking that night."

The older little girl was aware of Clementine looking at her in worry and confusion, and didn't know how to respond to it.

Ben: "W-what do you mean?"

Lilly: "About three months ago, Joel was talking to Ellie about how he was expecting a ride from one of his pals from the black market in Atlanta. Since they never came, he had no choice but to stay with us at the motor inn. So, in order to leave, he made a deal with the bandits so they would eventually force us into leaving. Or maybe they all used to be his co-workers and asked him to steal for them. Isn't that right, Joel?"

Joel: "I had nothing to do with what just happened back there."

Lilly: "Like hell you didn't."

Ellie: "That's crazy! There's no way he did this!"

Although Lee wanted to ask about the "ride" Lilly just mentioned, he decided now was not the time for that. His main concern right now was to defuse this tense situation and prevent it from escalating any further.

Lee: "Lilly! That's enough, okay? Let's just let it go. Look, shit happens all the time and, yeah this one's a fucking doozy, but it's just not worth it."

Lilly: "Then what do we not forgive? Honestly, tell me! Joel can help Kenny kill my dad, _and_ help Carley steal from us? Where's the line?!"

Joel: "Well, I suppose we won't know until somebody here crosses it."

Carley: "So what if he's from a black market? I couldn't care less if he was, and you oughta do the same."

Lilly: "Was it both of you?"

Carley: "What?"

Lilly: "I've seen how eager you both get to see what we brought from the drugstore. Was it both of you?!"

Ellie: "Would you just leave em the fuck alone already?!"

Joel: "Ellie, stay out of this."

Ellie: "But, Joel-"

Suddenly, the RV had run over a walker that stumbled onto the road and was now being dragged from underneath the speeding vehicle. Kenny struggled to keep it driving straight.

Kenny: "Dammit!"

Lee: "Kenny, what happened?!"

Kenny: "I hit something; probably a walker. We gotta stop for a minute."

He slows the RV down, pulls over to the side of the road and turns off the engine after checking to see if this was a good enough spot.

Kenny: "I don't see anything out there, so it should be safe enough."

Lilly: "Everybody out."

Lee: "Lilly…"

Lilly: "_Out_."

She brushes past Lee and steps out onto the side of the road. The group shortly followed suit; As Lilly looked around by the rear of the RV for any sign of dead folk coming their way, Lee had looked at Carley with concern and she had done the same. To him, she was someone that he trusted more than he trusted himself, and had also liked a lot. He always looked to her for support when he needed it and was now more than willing to lend her his. As for Joel, Lee was still surprised to hear that he was once part of a black market, but that didn't matter to him. Ever since they met, he had always been someone he could count on to have his back and trusted that man with his life. He knew it deep in his gut that neither one of them are traitors. Speaking of which, Joel was standing by the passenger door to see Kenny looking under the RV to see where the walker was.

Kenny: "Goddamn it. All right, look, the RV only got some surface damage and we got a walker trapped underneath. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled while I get rid of it."

Joel nods in acknowledgement and moves to Carley's left side and noticed Ellie standing right in front of Ben with her arms crossed. This was one argument he did not want her to take part of.

Joel: "Ellie, get back inside."

Ellie: "No, Joel. If Lilly wants to mess with you, then she's gonna have to mess with me, too."

Lilly: "Fine then, suit yourself. You know what? We shouldn't just kick you out. We should hear what everybody thinks."

Ben: "I think you should chill out!"

Carley: "I'm _not_ gonna take this! You can push around anyone else here, but you can't push _me_ around!"

Lilly: "I'm real sorry you feel that way, but I'm starting to think maybe it was both of you."

Joel: "Oh, I'm sure you do."

Meanwhile, Kenny was having his own problems with the walker wedged underneath the RV.

Kenny: "God, this dumb fuck walker!"

Lee: "You okay over there?"

Kenny: "Yeah, yeah. Son of a…"

Lilly: "Joel, you have no other options!"

Ellie: "Leave him alone!"

Lilly: "You can tell me it was Carley, and then everything will be right as rain."

Lee: "There's no way it was Carley, _or_ Joel. They've already told you more than once they didn't do it, so just lay off already. It could've just been someone sneaking into the motor inn without any of us noticing."

Lilly: "That's ridiculous. That's what you think?"

Lee: "Yes."

Lilly: "…Okay, fine then. Kenny?"

Kenny was barely listening in on the argument, but looks up at them upon hearing his name.

Kenny: "If you're asking if I think Joel did it, then no, I don't."

Lilly: "And why the hell is that?"

Kenny: "He just saved my family from getting eaten alive back there, so I owe him for that."

Lilly: "You can't be serious…"

Joel: "Do you honestly believe that I would do something like this that would endanger Ellie's safety? Let alone the entire group's?"

Lilly: "Ellie doesn't need someone from a fucking black market like you to look after her. So don't pretend that you actually give a rat's ass about her, or this group."

Ellie: "I'm standing right here, jackass. I don't care if Joel was in some black market. Him, Clementine and everyone else here are the only friends that I have left because of the fucking walkers. What makes you so special?"

Lilly: "Did you see your father get killed right in front of your eyes?"

Ellie: "No, but I did see one of the only people that I cared about shoot her own brains out right in front of my face, and I've still been having nightmares about it ever since."

Lilly: "Well, I am _so_ sorry to hear that, but you have no idea how it feels to lose _real_ family."

Ellie: "Bullshit I don't!"

Joel: "Lilly, you are trending on some mighty thin ice here."

Lilly: "Anymore than you already have?"

Lee: "He's not a bad guy, Lilly, and you know that. Being from a black market doesn't prove anything."

Joel: "I do not need your help, Lee."

Lilly: "Do we need any more evidence than _this_?!"

Carley: "FUCK evidence. Just leave him the hell alone!"

Lilly: "Shut up, Carley! Ugh, I heard enough out of you!"

Joel: "You need to knock this shit off, Lilly. This has gone on long enough!"

Lilly: "Joel, tell me that it was you that caused all this, and not her, or else!"

Joel: "I ain't got a fucking thing to hide!"

Carley: "For Christ's sake, this is crazy!"

Ellie: "Don't!"

Lilly: "Joel!"

Carley: "Stop!"

Lilly: "This is about trust, and I've never trusted you!"

Lee: "I did it!"

All eyes were on Lee now.

Lilly: "What?"

Lee: "Yeah, that's right, it was me. I was the one who gave them our supplies. That enough to get you to lay off now?"

The thought of Lee being the traitor was impossible to everyone. They all knew he was lying, but knew what he was trying to do.

Lilly: "I think you're capable of being a real piece of shit, but I know it wasn't you. You don't have the balls to pull a stunt like that."

Lee narrowed his eyes at her and was suddenly aware that Clementine was standing by the doorway. And then, Kenny managed to yank the walker out from underneath the RV.

Kenny: "There! I got em!"

Ben: "Please, let's just get back in the RV."

Lilly: "That's not happening! Not for _him_!"

The journalist had had enough of the paranoid woman's accusations.

Carley: "You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you… but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once."

Lilly just stared at her with an intense glare, reaching her boiling point. Everyone's attention was then diverted to the sound of Kenny stomping the walker's brains. Joel had only looked for a second and was going to say something to Lilly, but then he stopped turning his head until he saw from the corner of his eye that Lilly was bringing something out behind her waistband. It was then after hearing Carley tell her off that he knew what she was about to do next. There was barely any time for him to act right now, only mere seconds, and knew what he had to do in this moment.

Kenny: "Now, what the fuck's the problem?"

As Carley was turning her head to face Lilly again, she was suddenly shoved straight to the side of the RV and got the wind knocked out of her when-

**BANG**

A gunshot went off and Joel immediately hollers in pain while clutching his right forearm. Everyone was now looking at him in shock.

Ellie: "JOEL!"

Ellie was immediately right in front of him. When she tried to take a look of his wound, Joel quickly reassures her.

Joel: "Ellie, relax. It's nothing."

He moves his hand for a second to see the blood on his jacket sleeve and puts direct pressure on his wound. Ellie then turned to Lilly, who was still holding the gun out and did not appear to show any sign of remorse. It was obvious to everyone now what she attempted to do and understood what Joel did. The girl takes a step forward with an extremely upset look on her face and shouts,

Ellie: "What the _fuck_, Lilly?!"

Lee had grabbed her wrist and slams her to the side of the RV.

Lee: "_Drop it_!"

The angered look in his eyes and the tone of his voice was intimidating. The pressure he was putting on her wrist convinced her to release the gun and lets it fall to the ground. Ben only stood where he was, not knowing what to say and was trying to take in what just happened.

Kenny: "Holy fuck…"

Carley was massaging her arm that hit the side of the RV and stared at Joel's wounded arm, knowing that he had just saved her from taking a bullet to the head.

Carley: "My God, are you all right?"

Joel: "It ain't as bad as it looks, all right? The bullet just grazed my arm."

Ellie: "I can't believe you just fucking did that! What the hell were-?!"

Joel: "ELLIE!… Take her gun, and get back inside the RV. I'll meet you inside in a second."

Ellie was reluctant at first, but then obeys when she picked up the gun from the road. She moves to stand right at the doorway beside Clementine and stared daggers at Lilly, looking like she wanted to say something, but was too upset at her to say anything else. So instead, she huffs angrily and stomps on the steps into the old vehicle.

Katjaa: "Kenny! What's happening?!"

Kenny: "It- it's nothing, Kat. It's… nothing."

Kenny mirrored Ellie's expression as he moves next to Lee and shouts,

Kenny: "Get in! We're leaving this crazy bitch!"

Lilly: "They can't be trusted. I swear. Please!"

Joel: "So, your solution was to kill us then?"

Carley had only looked at her in disbelief and was no longer holding her arm from when she got pushed out of the line of fire. She never imagined that Lilly would go as far as trying to kill her.

Ben: "What're we gonna do with her?"

Kenny: "Leave her for the walkers."

Lee finally released his grip on Lilly, but still intensely glared at her. When he spoke, it was with a very low and threatening tone.

Lee: "You're not coming with us."

Lilly: "I'll die out here!"

Lee: "I don't care."

Carley then looked at Lee in surprise, as well as Clementine. They never heard him sound so cold before, but Kenny didn't miss a beat.

Kenny: "You tried to murder Carley, Lilly, and you damn near ended up killing Joel instead! We can't have you with us!"

Lilly: "_I'm_ the murderer? You had Lee with you this whole time!"

Kenny: "I don't care what he did before."

That response had taken Lilly off-guard and her expression made it obvious.

Lilly: "You know?!"

Kenny: "Yeah, he told me. I don't give a shit. If we keep you with us, how long until you try to kill _me_? You've obviously been planning that this entire time!"

Lilly: "I was trying to protect all of us!… I don't have anything left."

Nobody said a word after that until Joel took a step forward and broke the silence.

Joel: "You should've thought about that before you pulled the trigger on your own group. Kenny, get the RV running. We're leaving."

Kenny: "My thoughts exactly."

Lilly had looked pitiful at Lee, but there would be no changing his mind. She had just attempted to murder one of their own in cold blood and Lee would not risk her doing that ever again. Kenny had walked around to the driver's side and slammed the door after sitting back in his seat. Joel had ushered Ben inside and gave Lilly one last glare and said,

Joel: "You asked us yourself; where is the line, and now, you just fucking crossed it. For your sake, I hope that we _never_ meet again, Lilly."

That was his last words to her and walks in the RV. Carley was about to follow in, but stopped at the doorway with her hand on it and her head lowered while glancing at the woman that nearly killed her and muttered,

Carley: "What he said."

She steps in the RV, leaving only Lee to get inside. The man just stood there for a moment and shakes his head at Lilly before he walks back into the RV and closes the door behind him. Kenny starts the engine and drives away, leaving their former comrade behind.

* * *

Ellie had looked through the boards of the back window to see Lilly walk on the road, watching them all leave and then turned around when she saw a walker and takes off running into the forest. They may never see her again. The girl sits back down and watches Joel set his arm on the table, pulls back the sleeve of his jacket and then the sleeve of his blue flannel long sleeve to see the grazed wound Lilly had caused him. Carley and Ben sat with them from both sides and looked worriedly at him.

Joel: "Ah, shit."

Ben: "Does it hurt?"

Joel: "It stings a little, but otherwise, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it."

And then, Lee approaches them and sets Katjaa's medical kit on the table right beside Lilly's handgun.

Lee: "Here. Figured that you'd need this."

Joel: "Thanks. Appreciate it."

He opens up the kit and starts taking out things that he needed and Lee watched until he hears Katjaa call him.

Katjaa: "Lee? A word, please?"

Carley noticed his hesitation to move and reaches out to take his hand and he turns to see a reassuring smile on her face.

Carley: "Don't worry; I'll see what I can do from here."

Eventually, he smiles back at her and she lets him go. As he moved to the front while keeping himself steady in the moving vehicle, Lee paused for a moment to see Clementine sitting by herself in the couch. He wanted to ask if she was okay, but Katjaa needed him right now. So, he continued moving until he was at the front.

Lee: "Hey."

The husband and wife couple looked sadly at each other, and it took Kenny a moment to face forward again and reply to Lee.

Kenny: "Hey."

Lee had noticed that Duck was still in his mother's arms and he hadn't moved or said a word the whole time they were on the road, and wondered if this is what Katjaa had called him for.

Lee: "Is… something wrong with Duck?"

Katjaa then lifts the side of his shirt for a moment and what he sees had caused his jaw to drop and go wide-eyed.

Lee: "Oh, Christ!"

He was careful not to say it loud enough for anyone behind him to hear. Their son, Duck, had been bitten by a walker. The teeth marks on his abdomen made it clear as day. This was the last thing Lee wanted to happen.

Kenny: "Happened during the raid."

That one walker that had attacked them both by the desk; that was when it happened. A part of him felt appreciated that they informed him, but deep down, a smaller part wished that they didn't.

Lee: "What do we do? I mean, we've never had a bite victim in the group before."

Katjaa: "I'm going to keep an eye on him and see what I can do, from a medical perspective."

Kenny: "We keep the same plan unless something changes. East."

Lee could tell that Kenny wanted to believe that his boy would pull through this and that he was more determined to follow through with his plan on getting a boat and leaving the mainland. Kenny once told him that they were a tough family and nothing could phase them. But how do you remain unphased about something like this?

Katjaa: "He may be fine."

Lee: "Guys…"

Katjaa: "What else is there to do? We thought that you should know."

Kenny had looked back at him for a moment with his hands tight on the steering wheel.

Kenny: "Important to stay honest with each other."

Katjaa: "Anyway, if you want, you can tell Clementine as well."

Kenny: "But only Clementine for now, alright?"

Lee: "Sure."

And when he turns to move away from the family, he notices Clementine was still curled up in the couch and takes a seat next to her after setting his pack down. She then leans in close to rest her head on his chest and he wraps his arm around her to comfort her. He looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows and then back up. Too much has already happened tonight. The raid, Joel getting shot, Lilly abandoned on the road, and now this; this would no doubt count as their worst day ever. It was all such a big mess. He really didn't want to, but he knew that he should. He took a deep breath and abruptly tells her,

Lee: "Duck is bitten."

Not fully understanding, she looks up at him.

Clementine: "Huh?"

Lee: "He got bitten by a walker, trying to escape the motel."

Her eyes widen for a second and laid her head back down on his chest while looking at the front and frowns.

Clementine: "I… don't feel good."

He didn't expect her to and could feel her curl herself up even tighter.

Clementine: "What about Joel?"

Lee looked to the right to see Joel wincing a bit as Carley was finishing on cleaning his wound with a gauze.

Lee: "He'll be fine, don't worry. You understand what he did back there on the road, right?"

Clementine: "He saved Carley from being shot by Lilly."

Lee: "That's right, sweet pea."

She nods and then asks something that had struck her curiosity earlier.

Clementine: "Lee?"

Lee: "Yeah?"

Clementine: "What's a black market? Is it bad?"

Somehow, he knew that she would ask him that and tries to think of a proper way to answer her.

Lee: "Yeah, it actually is. You see, Clem, a black market is a place where people would go to buy things that aren't legal. Like drugs, weapons and other things you wouldn't be allowed to have. Now, Joel told me back at the motel that he used to work there as a dealer in Atlanta, and that he's done some bad things before when he was."

Clementine: "Is that why Lilly thought _he_ was bad, and why she said she never trusted him?"

Lee: "Yeah. It's complicated, but yeah."

The younger girl had glanced at Ellie for a moment and saw her looking just as upset as she was at her caretaker. She thought back about all the good that Joel had done in the past. Clementine never saw him as a bad guy, and decided that she wouldn't start now.

Clementine: "Joel's always been there for Ellie, and all of us, just like how you're always there for me."

He then looked down at her again and held her closer, feeling happy that she didn't have any ill feelings towards Joel, just like how he decided not to. However, there was still something that he wanted to talk to him about, but he would have to wait until the time was right.

Lee: "I know, Clem."

Meanwhile, the journalist had finished cleaning the wound and sets the gauze down.

Carley: "Well, you're lucky that it wasn't any worse."

Joel: "Right."

Ben: "Is there anything I can do?"

Joel: "Thanks, Ben, but I've got this."

Ben: "Okay. Sorry."

Joel: "Ain't nothing to be sorry about. Just, try to get some sleep."

Ben nods at him and tries to make himself comfortable as he laid down and let his drowsiness take over. Joel grabs a roll of bandages and starts wrapping it around his arm. Little did he know, the teen boy had a lot to be sorry for.

Ellie: "You do realize that you nearly gave me a heart attack, right?"

Joel: "Really?"

Ellie: "Yeah, I mean, I literally thought that you were gonna die back there. You were crazy to just let Lilly shoot you like that. Why didn't you just grab the gun?"

Joel: "Well, I thought of that, but I figured if I did, then she would've shot me in the face instead, just like she tried to do with you, Carley."

Carley: "I understand that… And I really do appreciate what you did for me, what with saving my life and all. But, next time, you think you could do it without trying to dislocate my shoulder?"

He raised an eyebrow as a response, thinking of how hard he had shoved her.

Joel: "Sorry about that, but it was all I could think to do. And don't think that this means you owe me anything. You hear?"

Carley: "I've heard that before."

That was good enough for Joel and he had finished bandaging his arm. He also thought of how it would've been a real shame if whatever was going on between her and Lee had ended just when it barely even began, but chose not to say it out loud. Whatever goes on in their love lives was their business. After closing the medical kit, he pulls his sleeves down, lays his head back and shuts his eyes in effort to get some sleep of his own. Ellie then shifts to rest beside him and Carley uses her arms as a pillow on the table and lays her head down. It had been a long and bad night for everyone. Lee and Clementine however were still having their conversation.

Lee: "I'm glad I have you."

Clementine: "Me too."

The little girl thought back on the first day she met this man at her house.

Clementine: "I heard you outside my treehouse that day, and thought about dropping the hammer on your head."

Lee lets out chuckle upon hearing those words.

Lee: "What? Why?"

Clementine: "In case you were up to no good. Before you, there was this other guy. He was yelling and trying to get into my house. He wanted to take the TV and tried to break the glass door with a rock, and then some walkers came and scared him away."

Lee: "The door was open."

Clementine: "He was dumb."

They smile at each other until Clem slowly fell asleep against him. Lee then watched the sink drip water for a while before he looked to see that everyone at the table was asleep and then sees Duck's legs sticking from resting in Katjaa's arms and Kenny was still driving down the road. All things considered, this was definitely not what he imagined it to be when it came to hitting the road. His eyelids then became heavier and heavier until he laid his back just as he hears Clementine again and looks down at her. But when she lifted her head up, he was completely taken by surprise to see her face and skin all rotten just like a walker and she suddenly lunged at him.

Lee: "Clem?! FUCK!"

He ends up falling off the couch and tried with all his might to push her away. He was sure that she was _not_ bitten from when they left the motel, so why in the hell is this happening now?

Lee: "What happened?! Holy shit! Get off of me! Carley! Joel! Help me!"

But when he looks at the table, he sees everyone there had also become a walker. Carley, Ellie, Joel, even Ben, and they were all coming for him.

Lee: "What the- ?! Jesus fucking Christ! Kenny! Do something!"

When he turned to look at Kenny, his neck was getting gnawed at by his undead son and Lee looked into his unfocused eyes, screaming in horror as the RV was swerving out of control and he couldn't push the undead little girl any longer and the old vehicle turns straight to the forest, heading right into a lake.

* * *

Lee: "AH!"

Suddenly, everything was back to normal and saw that everyone still asleep, except for Kenny still driving the RV. Even Clementine was still resting peacefully on his chest. The whole thing was nothing more than a nightmare. After his heart was beating at a normal pace again, he sighs in relief and wipes his hand over his face. The nightmare was so real and so horrible. He tried to not think about it until he heard Kenny call out.

Kenny: "Hey, wake up, y'all. We got something up ahead."

Lee acknowledges when he got up from the couch while making sure not to wake his little girl and walks to the front while everyone was had woken from their slumbers.

Kenny: "Dammit, road's blocked."

He steps on the brakes when they approached the blockade that was preventing them from going any further.

Kenny: "Now we gotta deal with this."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**A/N Thought that I was going to kill off Carley, did you? I think not! It pains me too much to see her die. Now, some of you, or should I say most of you readers out there may be aware of the spectacular story SummertimeSadness1 has been writing that's about Lee preventing Carley's death, and I want you all to be assured that I do NOT plan on making this exactly like it, because that would just be plain plagiarism. A big no-no. But I do plan on doing some romance between them here and there. And, if you had noticed Ben was almost completely silent in the accusations, that was actually intentional on my part for purposes I have planned in the future. One more thing, I do plan on having another character or two from The Last of Us make an appearance, but unfortunately, it won't happen in this book. My apologies. Until then,******** I hope that y'all continue to enjoy this crossover.**


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